As is well known by any manufacturer of ski bindings, as well as most users of ski bindings, a ski binding should comprise of as few functional parts as possible for flawless function in use when exposed to repetitive stress, snow, ice and water entering and freezing within the binding. Moreover, fewer functional parts allows easier assembly and lower production cost of the binding. To further reduce production cost while simultaneously offering a high quality binding to a customer at an acceptable sale price, is it advantageous to allow most or all of the assembly of the parts of the binding to be performed in a fully automatic process. The fewer manual operations required, the less expensive the binding becomes. Currently there exists a very large amount of ski bindings on the market, and a substantial number of these bindings are based on the well-known NNN norm, i.e. for use with ski shoes that have a transversal engagement pin mounted underneath the front of the sole of the ski shoe, the binding engaging the engagement pin at either end of the engagement pin or parts of the engagement pin. Several of these ski bindings are designed in a way that requires several manual and/or complicated automated operations to assemble the different parts of the binding. In particular, in an automated assembly operation it is disadvantageous to allow binding engagement operations to be performed from different directions, i.e. some operation in a vertical direction, some in a horizontal direction as well as at an angle relative to these directions. Also, rotating a constructional part or element could complicate or add further complexity or cost to the required equipment. Operations in several directions to assemble parts could therefore include joining certain parts either manually or in different positions prior to the in-line part assembly.
A binding solving the aforementioned problems is described in WO2012036561A1.
Although this binding is an excellent binding, children sometimes find it difficult to enter and exit.
One type of known binding provides a front arm for manual opening of the locking mechanism by the child. An example is the Rottefella Touring Manuell. The arm can be rotated upwards to move a wire from a locking position to an open position in which the arm can be left resting due to inherent friction between moving parts of the binding. After opening of the locking mechanism, one can enter the binding and subsequently manually force the arm down to move the wire back to the locking position. This binding has no step-in functionality and is thus better suited for uneven terrain where step-in bindings tend to be difficult to enter.
Another known binding is the Rottefella Touring Auto. This binding provides a step in functionality but has to be opened with a ski pole for exit, and is not easy to step into on uneven terrain.
Thus, an object of the invention is to provide an improved ski binding for children, enabling easy entry and easy exit of a ski shoe in all types of terrain, whilst being easy to assemble. This and other objects are achieved by a ski binding according to a first aspect of the invention.
A binding according to a first aspect of the invention comprises a housing comprising a first recess for receiving a ski shoe pin. The binding also comprises a locking member movable back and forth between a locking position, in which one or more locking portions of the locking member cooperate with the first recess for mutually preventing a ski shoe pin from being removed from the first recess, and an open position, in which the one or more locking portions are retracted from the first recess to allow the ski shoe pin to enter and exit the first recess. Further, the binding comprises a biasing means configured to bias the locking member towards the locking position. The binding also comprises an activation member rotatably attached to the housing for rotation around a transversal rotational axis of the binding. The locking member is provided with at least one outer portion shaped to allow a ski shoe pin to force the locking member from the locking position towards the open position upon entry of the ski shoe pin into the first recess. The activation member is provided with an arm extending radially away from the transversal rotational axis of the activation member. The activation member and the locking member are operatively connected by means of mutually cooperating connection means configured such that at rotation of the arm in the first rotational direction through a predetermined lower operational range of the arm, the activation member forces the locking member from the locking position to the open position. The mutually cooperating connection means are also configured such that any movement of the arm caused by movement of the locking member from the locking position to the open position occurs only within the predetermined lower operational range of the arm. The binding is provided with a means for releasably holding the locking member in its open position at movement of the arm to a predetermined upper position outside the predetermined lower operational range of the arm.
The arm of the activation member enables a child to reach in front of him/her and easily apply a relatively high torque to the activation member to force the locking member open. This binding also features means for holding the locking member in its open position to thereby allow an adult and child to first open the locking mechanism, and subsequently focus on getting the child's ski shoe secured to the binding, thereby avoiding any need to manually apply force to the arm to prevent the biasing means from moving the locking member back to its closing position during entry into the binding. This binding is also provided with a step-in functionality which when the underlying terrain so permits, allows a child to step into the binding without operating the arm. At step-in into the binding, it is important that the locking member can first be forced open by the ski shoe pin, and that the locking member subsequently automatically returns to its locking position. The holding means is configured to engage direct or indirect holding of the locking member first when the arm has been lifted above the predetermined lower operational range of the arm to the predetermined upper position. At step-in into the binding, the movement of the locking member induced by the pin of the ski shoe is limited to movement within the lower operational range. Thus, step-in into the binding can be made without triggering engagement of the holding means.
The binding is thus more suitable for use by a child than prior art bindings, since the child can easily enter and exit the binding independently of the underlying terrain, due to the non-conflicting provision of the following features into the same binding:                easy manual opening of the locking mechanism by a child,        step-in functionality, and        a functionality giving a stable open position of the locking member/binding.        
In an embodiment, the means for releasably holding the locking member in its open position comprises a first engagement means provided at the arm, the activation member or the locking member, and a corresponding second engagement means provided somewhere on the binding for releasable engagement of the first and second corresponding engagement means at movement of the arm to the predetermined upper position. The first and second means are thus moved relative to each other at operation of the arm, wherein they engage, for example by friction or magnetism, at movement of the arm to the predetermined upper position.
In an embodiment, the locking member is movable from the locking position, towards the open position and past the open position by movement of the arm. Normal operation of the binding requires movement of the locking member between the locking position and the open position. In this embodiment, the locking member is further movable away from its closed position past its open position. This further forced movement of the locking member enables improved breaking and removal of ice, snow and dirt jamming the binding.
In an embodiment, wherein the mutually cooperating connection means are also configured such that at rotation of the arm within the lower operational range of the arm in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction, the activation member forces the locking member towards the locking position. Here, since the arm can here be used to force the locking member back towards its locking position, any ice, snow or dirt jamming the binding, can be forced to release. This is particularly advantageous for the present binding since it has a stable open position, such that the binding may be left open for a while. The open binding may then be exposed to sun such that snow in the binding melts and subsequently freezes again, thereby jamming the binding and the locking mechanism in the open position. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the activation member may be configured to engage the locking member differently, such that the arm cannot be used to force the locking member back to its locking position, wherein one instead has to rely on the biasing means for moving the locking member back to its locking position. The biasing means is typically not strong enough to crush ice for releasing a frozen binding. Further choosing a very strong biasing means would make it difficult for a child to open the binding.
An outer end portion of the arm may be provided with a hand grip.
The hand grip provides an increased gripping area for the child to reach and grab when pulling the arm.
The hand grip may be detachable from the arm. Since the hand grip is detachable, the grip can be attached to the arm after the arm has been introduced through a front opening of the cover member. Such design thereby enables a large grip without obstructing automatic assembly operations and without requiring excessively large size of such a front opening.
The detachable hand grip may be provided with left and right protrusions.
The left and right protrusions enables improved grabbing of the arm from the left and right sides of the arm respectively, which in turn enables a child to strongly grip the arm with his/hers fingertips.
The detachable hand grip may be provided with a front protrusion.
The front protrusion enables grabbing of the arm from the front side of the arm and thereby enables a longer arm, such that less force is needed to overcome the force of the biasing means.
The housing may comprise a cover member and a bottom member insertable into the cover member for mutually defining an inner space for housing of the activation member, the biasing means and the locking member, wherein the bottom member is provided with bottom, left and right support surfaces for jointly guiding the locking member within the inner space of the housing for movement along a longitudinal axis of the binding, wherein the activation member engages the locking member by means of a recess in the activation member engaging a protrusion provided at an end portion of the locking member, wherein the biasing means is a resilient member provided along the longitudinal axis of the binding between a seat portion of the housing and a seat portion of the locking member, wherein the bottom member is provided with left and right seats for rotatably supporting the activation member, wherein the left and right seats of the bottom member are positioned such that the transversal axis of the binding is located along the length of the biasing means, and wherein the activation member is provided with a central recess for receiving a portion of the biasing means.
At assembly of the binding, the locking member and biasing means are first positioned on the bottom member. Then, the activation member and its arm are positioned on top of the locking member and biasing means, with the activation member supported in the left and right seats of the bottom member. The central recess allows the activation member to be positioned closer to the bottom support surface of the bottom member without obstructing movement of the biasing means. Since the activating member is positioned along the length of the biasing means, and not in extension of the biasing means, the locking member does not have to be extended past the biasing means to provide for engagement with the activating member. Altogether, this makes it possible to produce a shorter and lower binding mechanism. At the same time, after the locking member, the activation member and the biasing means have been assembled onto the bottom member, all those parts form a unit which is easy to slide into the recess of the cover member of the housing for locking ails parts in place, thereby enabling easy automated assembly of the binding.
TABLE 1Table of reference numerals1touring or cross-country binding2housing3cover member4bottom member5first recess of cover member6locking member7longitudinal axis of binding8locking portions of locking member9activation member10transversal rotational axis11pins of activation member12seats of bottom member13recess of activation member14protrusion at end portion of locking member15arm of activation member16protrusions at front of activation member17heel of cover member18biasing means19bottom surface20left surface21right surface22snap locking protrusions23central recess of activating member24hand grip25seat portion of housing26seat portion of locking member27outer portions of locking member28resilient element - flexor29predetermined lower operational range30upper portions of housing31recesses of upper portions of housing